Why not play the game in the preseason, when people are dying for hockey?

It’s really a concept that I think just about every sport should consider. Just look at the NFL. People are obsessed with the sport like no other in the United States yet the Pro Bowl receives a nationwide yawn. Why? Because it’s anticlimactic, whether you place the event in the week between the conference championships and the Super Bowl or a week after the big game.

But what if the NFL placed the Pro Bowl right around training camp? Now is the time when football fans are jonesing for some pigskin at a near-junkie level. I mean, seriously, if people are willing to watch exhibition games then wouldn’t they clamor for a bout between the league’s best? I think so.

The same logic can apply to hockey. Why have the All-Star Game in the middle of a brutal, 82-game season? Of course older players like Nicklas Lidstrom would prefer rest; what does he have to prove in such a meaningless game? By switching gears and putting it either right before the beginning of a new season or sometime before/during training camp, it could take advantage of how much people miss the NHL and give players a chance to tune up for the next season.

After the jump, I’ll talk about a few more pros and give you a chance to vote on whether this is a good idea or not.

Better representation

One added advantage of doing a preseason game is that you could celebrate an entire season instead of relying on fan voting from just a portion of that year. With that in mind, you would have a better representation of which players were dominant during the previous season. Also, as I mentioned before, injuries would also be less of a concern.

Creative formats, such as “Beat the Defending Champions”

What if the league celebrated its Stanley Cup champions by having them play against an All-Star team? It could even be a great way to send-off that team; have them raise the Cup banner in their own barn, reunite the players who were on the ice for the Cup victory one last time before they depart due to free agency and maybe even raise the level of competition since that title-winning team will have built-in chemistry. Wouldn’t it be great to see Dustin Byfuglien in a Blackhawks uniform one last time?

Hyping the upcoming season

Some reasonably state that the All-Star Game exists to appease sponsors, but shouldn’t it be a way of promoting the sport itself? By holding it before the season, you can get people pumped to see hockey again. Let’s not forget that if you were to run the game on, say, a weekday to avoid football in September you’d also gain an opportunity to be the “only show in town.” (Yes, baseball will be going on but at least it won’t be the playoffs just yet.) Hockey will always get overshadowed by something, yet the NHL could at least give the event a fighting chance.

So, now that I’ve made the case for a preseason All-Star Game, what do you think? Would it be better that way or is a mid-season version a better idea? Vote in the poll below.

That’s kind of a good half-idea…I think they should do things to spice up the game/weekend…not sure if the preseason is the best way…and think about it, if you’re Don Waddell or whoever is gonna sign Kovy, do you really want you’re offseason prize going full speed(ok maybe half speed) in any kind of sort of maybe contact drills not in your own facilities? I doubt it…that’s like sayin you’d let your new girlfriend go out with her ex for one last night before she started her new relationship…too many variables that are out of the new teams control…but seriously, if Crosby or Alex or any superstar got hurt the NHL would get crucified…